It\u2019s difficult to fathom that Freddie Mercury, the magnetic frontman of\u00a0Queen, passed away in 1991. His musicianship, songwriting and projection buoyed him to the full height of global fame as both a revered artist and pop star. With a versatile canon of immortal hits and a legacy as one of the greatest showmen of all time, Mercury\u2019s presence remains just as potent 32 years after his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frankly, a\u00a0greatest hits album for Queen\u00a0would never cut the mustard. The band had so many different chapters, littered with energetic hits and poignant ballads, that it\u2019s difficult to file the oeuvre down to just a few tracks. Making that job a little easier, though, is a list of Mercury\u2019s favourites as devised by his surviving bandmates, Brian May and Roger Taylor.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, Queen\u2019s official Spotify profile created a playlist of Mercury\u2019s favourite songs, including selections by Queen and from his solo career. The selections from the Queen and solo catalogues can be seen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taken together, the selections offer a rare glimpse behind the curtain of Mercury\u2019s own affections. Rather than simply reflecting commercial triumphs, they reveal the songs that resonated with him on a personal level, the pieces that perhaps captured something of his own artistic ambition. In that sense, the playlist feels less like a roll call of hits and more like a self-portrait in sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The playlist includes \u2018Somebody to Love\u2019, the lead single from Queen\u2019s 1976 album\u00a0A Day at the Races<\/em>. The operatic hit was heavily influenced by the band\u2019s concurrent infatuation with harmonising gospel vocals and is often compared to\u00a0\u2018Bohemian Rhapsody\u2019, the epic 1975 track\u00a0some fans will be surprised to see wasn\u2019t included in Mercury\u2019s favourites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had the same three people singing on the big choir sections, but I think it had a different kind of technical approach because there was this sort of Gospel way of singing, which I think was different to us,\u201d Mercury once said of the song. \u201cSort of going to Aretha Franklin, sort of made them go a bit mad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just wanted to write something in that kind of thing,\u201d he continued. \u201cI was sort of incensed by the Gospel approach that she had on her albums, the earlier albums. Although it might sound the same kind of approach on the harmonies, it is very different in the studio because it\u2019s like a different kind of\u2026 a different range.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That hunger to stretch himself was a constant throughout his career. Mercury was rarely content to remain in one stylistic lane, always searching for a new register or theatrical flourish that could push Queen\u2019s sound further. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the songs he held close were those that balanced technical daring with emotional candour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsewhere on the list is \u2018It\u2019s a Hard Life\u2019, which arrived on the 1984 album The Works. The song is also one of May\u2019s favourites. \u201cTo my mind, this is one of the most beautiful songs that Freddie ever wrote,\u201d May opined in the notes for 2003\u2019s Greatest Video Hits 2<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s straight from the heart, and he opened up during the creation of it. I sat with him for hours and hours and hours, just pouring out every word and trying to get the most out of it. It\u2019s a very revealing thing about how relationships are, and he was talking about his relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut there\u2019s everybody\u2019s relationship in there, whatever kind of relationship it is. To me, it\u2019s one of his loveliest songs,\u201d he added. \u201cOn the face of it, I think I was mortified that he wanted to make this kind of video because it\u2019s totally distracting, obviously. But in Freddie\u2019s mind, I\u2019m not gonna say it\u2019s a joke; it\u2019s an ironical take.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n See the full list of Freddie Mercury\u2019s favourites of his own songs below and follow the playlist if you like what you see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Love Me Like There\u2019s No Tomorrow\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Somebody To Love\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Crazy Little Thing Called Love\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018It\u2019s A Hard Life\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018The Miracle\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Time\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018The Great Pretender\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s difficult to fathom that Freddie Mercury, the magnetic frontman of\u00a0Queen, passed away in 1991. His musicianship, songwriting…\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-musician"},"yoast_head":"\nFreddie Mercury\u2019s favourites songs:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n